Well it’s the weekend after Thanksgiving, are the leftovers gone? Did you partake in Black Friday deals on and offline? Is your Christmas tree now up and glowing in your family room?

The days leading up to Thanksgiving seemed to go at warp speed. I swore I was not going to have to go to the grocery store on the day before the holiday. However, I wanted the freshest dinner rolls for the meal so I found myself jockeying for a parking space at Riesbeck’s in Elm Grove on Wednesday morning.

The parking lot was full of cars bearing license plates from near and far. I braced for impact as I strolled into the store. You can imagine how busy it was on the day before one of the most prominent holidays that centers around food.

Now while I have to admit that shopping is not one of my favorite activities, I actually found myself enjoying the hustle and bustle of all those shoppers trying to avoid colliding into one another.

It didn’t take long to find the delicious dinner rolls prepared by those special bakers at the store. It was one of the busiest sections of the store as bread and doughnuts flew off the shelves.

I decided to just stroll through the store and take in all the activity. There was no sense in being in a hurry. Within this crowd I ran into a few people I knew. We compared our grocery lists and spoke of all the preparation that goes into a grand meal that is usually consumed in minutes. After all, there are football games to be watched that are a part of the importance of the day’s events.

I then managed to walk down an aisle that I shared with just one other shopper. As I approached the man in his motorized shopping cart, I noticed he was wearing a Korean War veteran’s hat. I stopped and thanked him for his service.

He told me he had served starting in 1951 and joked that it was before I was born. I assured him that was only a few years prior to my birth and that he looked quite spry for a man more than 90 years old. We parted ways with good thoughts for one another’s holiday.

As I headed to the checkout I was happy to see nearly every cash register had an actual clerk checking out customers. I only had to wait a few minutes to pay for my items and head to my car. I have to say the whole shopping experience left me with a smile. I had accomplished what I set out to do and received the bonus of having made a new acquaintance.

Now that was something for which I was thankful.

Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.